Coronary atherosclerosis - A postmortem histopathological study

Abstract

Cardiovascular disease in general and coronary heart disease in particular remains the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in developed countries. The aim of this study was to look at the prevalence of coronary atherosclerosis, its severity and site of involvement in postmortem hearts. The hearts of 30-60 yrs old, fifty dead victims were considered who died from various natural and unnatural deaths. After autopsy, coronary arteries were inspected grossly and microscopically. Out of all these cases, 10 cases (20 %) showed no pathological lesions. Total distribution of lesions in the coronaries are as follows; 34 (68 %) atheromatous lesions in Left Anterior Descending Artery, 25 (50 %) lesions in the Right Coronary Artery, 18 (36 %) lesions in Left Circumflex. Proximal involvement was more common except in the right coronary artery, which was involved distally. The overall prevalence of coronary atherosclerosis in the present study was comparable with that noted by other investigators in autopsy studied. There is a higher prevalence of atherosclerosis in Indians, which may be due to changes in life-styles andother risks factors.